Leading from the front ... The Hobbit tops the U.S. box office for a third week.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week and capping a record-setting $US10.8 billion ($A10.46 billion) year in moviegoing.

The fantasy epic from director Peter Jackson, based on the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien novel, made nearly $US33 million this weekend, according to Sunday studio estimates, despite serious competition from some much-anticipated newcomers. It's now made a whopping $US686.7 million worldwide and $US222.7 million domestically alone.

We were able to get this record without scratching and clawing to a record.

Two big holiday movies - and potential Academy Awards contenders - also had strong openings. Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti Western-blaxploitation mash-up Django Unchained came in second place for the weekend with $US30.7 million. The revenge comedy, starring Jamie Foxx as a slave in the Civil War South and Christoph Waltz as the bounty hunter who frees him and then makes him his partner, has earned $US64 million since its Christmas Day opening.

Massive haul ... Django Unchained takes Tarantino to second spot.

In third place with $US28 million was the sweeping, all-singing Les Miserables, based on the international musical sensation and the Victor Hugo novel of strife and uprising in 19th century France. The film, with a cast of A-list actors singing live on camera led by Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe has made $US67.5 million domestically and $US116.2 worldwide since debuting on Christmas Day.

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Additionally, the smash-hit James Bond adventure Skyfall has now made $US1 billion internationally to become the most successful film yet in the 50-year franchise, Sony Pictures announced on Sunday. The film stars Daniel Craig for the third time as the iconic British superspy.

"This is a great final weekend of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Looking up ... Les Miserables recorded a phenomenal Christmas Day opening.

"How perfect to end this year on such a strong note with the top five films performing incredibly well."

The week's other new wide release, the Billy Crystal-Bette Midler comedy Parental Guidance from 20th Century Fox, made $US14.8 million over the weekend for fourth place and $US29.6 million total since opening at Christmas.

Dergarabedian described the holding power of The Hobbit in its third week as "just amazing." Jackson shot the film, the first of three prequels to his massively successful Lord of the Rings series, in 48 frames per second - double the normal frame rate - for a crisper, more detailed image. It's also available in the usual 24 frames per second and both 2D and 3D projections.

"I think people are catching up with the movie. Maybe they're seeing it in multiple formats," he said. "I think it's just a big epic that feels like a great way to end the moviegoing year. There's momentum there with this movie."

Django Unchained is just as much of an epic in its own stylishly violent way that's quintessentially Tarantino. Erik Lomis, The Weinstein Co's president of theatrical distribution, said the opening exceeded the studio's expectations.

"We're thrilled with it, clearly. We knew it was extremely competitive at Christmas, particularly when you look at the start 'Les Miz' got. We were sort of resigned to being behind them. The fact that we were able to overtake them over the weekend was just great," Lomis said. "Taking nothing away from their number, it's a tribute to the playability of Django."

By their powers combined ... The Avengers helped propel the box office to it's record total.

Les Miserables went into its opening weekend with nearly $US40 million in North American grosses, including $US18.2 on Christmas Day. That's the second-best opening ever on the holiday following Sherlock Holmes, which made $US24.9 million on Christmas 2009. Tom Hooper, in a follow-up to his Oscar-winner The King's Speech, directs an enormous, ambitious take on the beloved musical which has earned a CinemaScore of "A" from audiences and "A-plus" from women.

Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution, said the debut for Les Miserables also beat the studio's expectations.

"That $18.2 million Christmas Day opening - people were shocked... This is a musical!" she said.

"Once people see it, they talk about how fabulous it is."

It all adds up to a record-setting year at the movies, beating the previous annual record of $US10.6 billion set in 2009. Dergarabedian pointed out that the hits came scattered throughout the year, not just during the summer blockbuster season or prestige-picture time at the end.

Contraband, Safe House and The Vow all performed well early on, but then when the big movies came, they were huge. The Avengers had the biggest opening ever with $US207.4 million in May.

The raunchy comedy Ted and comic-book behemoth The Dark Knight Rises both found enormous audiences. And Paul Thomas Anderson's challenging drama The Master shattered records in September when it opened on five screens in New York and Los Angeles with $US736,311, for a staggering per-screen average of $US147,262.

"We were able to get this record without scratching and clawing to a record," he said.

11 comments so far

Since ticket prices go up most years it is no wonder that records keep being set - would be more meaningful to know how many people went to see the films.

Commenter

MrDog

Location

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 12:30PM

Since they also include the extra people pay for Xtreme Screen and 3D as well, it is hardly a fair assessment. Not really helpful in the long term for them either as they cannot tell if numbers going to the cinema are increasing in real terms. Stupid not to be utilising accurate data, what are they so afraid of discovering.

Commenter

FarmandGardenGirl

Location

Melb

Date and time

January 01, 2013, 4:49PM

Of course it's cinema's biggest year in dollar terms, because of inflation. A more meaningful measure would be the number of bums on seats. Isn't it strange how the industry only ever publishes the dollars?

Commenter

GMan

Location

Chatswood

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 12:32PM

Hear, hear. The only meaningful comparison is bums on seats.

Commenter

William

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 1:03PM

Piracy doesn't seem to be having any affect on ticket sales.

Commenter

Natt

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 1:28PM

At the end of the day people still love to go to the movies. Sitting at home with a dodgy pirate copy is hardly the same was watching a good film in a packed cinema.

Commenter

Roj Blake

Location

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 1:55PM

Natt, if they don't publish meaningful data (either bums on seats, or inflation-adjusted dollars), then we don't know whether it's having an effect or not.

Commenter

GMan

Location

Chatswood

Date and time

December 31, 2012, 2:07PM

If they discounted the inflation rate of 2012 from the total earnings it would allow a more meaningful comparison with last year. This would really give a better indication of cinema's overall popularity and if it really is significantly on the rise.

Commenter

West

Location

Date and time

January 01, 2013, 1:02PM

Proof positive that mediocity and the lowest denominator rule fiscally.

Commenter

Maria

Location

Date and time

January 01, 2013, 2:13PM

Parental Guidance looked like it was written by an eight year old with a learning disability.